Iraq war wasn't as scary as becoming a father . . .
12:00 Monday 14 May 2012 Written by RICH GUTTRIDGE
ONCE a fearless commando who had to perform terrifying tasks in the Army, Neil Sinclair says it was nothing compared to becoming a father for the first time.
former serving soldier Neil Sinclair Ten years ago Mr Sinclair, from Alrewas, was serving during the Iraq war as a Royal Engineer, where his duties included disarming mines.
But the most daunting experience of his life came with the arrival of his first son, Sam.
Mr Sinclair, 41, found he wanted guidance — a training manual telling him what to do.
So he decided to write one himself.
He said: “When I got home from the hospital with my wife, I thought ‘could I take care of my son?’. I had read up and prepared but when we got home I looked at my wife and said ‘what do we do now?’.
“I was scared. I felt out of my depth.” It was after the birth of his third child that Mr Sinclair, now fully ‘trained’ as a parent since having two more children, Jude and Liberty, decided to write the book ‘Commando Dad’ to help other new fathers.
He combined his experiences of the Army with his time as a new parent to create a ‘military-style basic training manual’ on parenthood, telling new fathers how to carry out tasks quickly and efficiently.
Mr Sinclair said: “There are so many books for new mums, and that’s wonderful, but dads get sidelined. Maybe this can help to redress the balance, then dads can do more. They can step up to support the mum.”
So far the reaction to the book has been overwhelming, with it selling out its original print after just two days.
Mr Sinclair suggested part of the reason for the huge response was that fathers-tobe felt uncomfortable asking for help elsewhere.
“Maybe there was no-one else to ask,” he said. “Maybe they didn’t feel comfortable asking their mates. This can break the barrier. It’s not a weakness to ask for help.
“The response to the book is above and beyond what I’d anticipated. I’ve got mates coming back from Afghanistan who are having babies saying ‘when can I get hold of this book?’”
Although during his time in Iraq Mr Sinclair would have to tackle live mines and take shelter from sniper fire, he maintains becoming a father was the most difficult thing he has ever done.
“In some ways it was more scary. You are trained to such a high level in the Army that you know what to do.
“There are scary elements to being in the Army. When I had to disarm my first mine, a ‘Bouncing Betty’, which are particularly horrible, I had never had a more frightening experience up to that point.
“But the next time I came across one I knew what to do.
“When I became a dad I had no training, no skills. I was thinking ‘what do I do?’” A decade on, Mr Sinclair, launching ‘Commando Dad’ at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, is loving life as a stay-at-home father, but said doing it for the first time was not a position he would want to be put in again.
He said: “If you gave me a million pounds, I wouldn’t do that again! “It’s a very daunting thing. It’s a journey.
“I love it. It still continues to be the most challenging thing, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Some proceeds from the book will go to charity, as well as the Arboretum, which is a place Mr Sinclair holds close to his heart.
He added: “This is a place of remembrance for families who have lost loved ones since the Second World War.
“People, young men and women, are still fighting and families can come here to remember.
“This is an opportunity to give something back.”
SOURCE
12:00 Monday 14 May 2012 Written by RICH GUTTRIDGE
ONCE a fearless commando who had to perform terrifying tasks in the Army, Neil Sinclair says it was nothing compared to becoming a father for the first time.
former serving soldier Neil Sinclair Ten years ago Mr Sinclair, from Alrewas, was serving during the Iraq war as a Royal Engineer, where his duties included disarming mines.
But the most daunting experience of his life came with the arrival of his first son, Sam.
Mr Sinclair, 41, found he wanted guidance — a training manual telling him what to do.
So he decided to write one himself.
He said: “When I got home from the hospital with my wife, I thought ‘could I take care of my son?’. I had read up and prepared but when we got home I looked at my wife and said ‘what do we do now?’.
“I was scared. I felt out of my depth.” It was after the birth of his third child that Mr Sinclair, now fully ‘trained’ as a parent since having two more children, Jude and Liberty, decided to write the book ‘Commando Dad’ to help other new fathers.
He combined his experiences of the Army with his time as a new parent to create a ‘military-style basic training manual’ on parenthood, telling new fathers how to carry out tasks quickly and efficiently.
Mr Sinclair said: “There are so many books for new mums, and that’s wonderful, but dads get sidelined. Maybe this can help to redress the balance, then dads can do more. They can step up to support the mum.”
So far the reaction to the book has been overwhelming, with it selling out its original print after just two days.
Mr Sinclair suggested part of the reason for the huge response was that fathers-tobe felt uncomfortable asking for help elsewhere.
“Maybe there was no-one else to ask,” he said. “Maybe they didn’t feel comfortable asking their mates. This can break the barrier. It’s not a weakness to ask for help.
“The response to the book is above and beyond what I’d anticipated. I’ve got mates coming back from Afghanistan who are having babies saying ‘when can I get hold of this book?’”
Although during his time in Iraq Mr Sinclair would have to tackle live mines and take shelter from sniper fire, he maintains becoming a father was the most difficult thing he has ever done.
“In some ways it was more scary. You are trained to such a high level in the Army that you know what to do.
“There are scary elements to being in the Army. When I had to disarm my first mine, a ‘Bouncing Betty’, which are particularly horrible, I had never had a more frightening experience up to that point.
“But the next time I came across one I knew what to do.
“When I became a dad I had no training, no skills. I was thinking ‘what do I do?’” A decade on, Mr Sinclair, launching ‘Commando Dad’ at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, is loving life as a stay-at-home father, but said doing it for the first time was not a position he would want to be put in again.
He said: “If you gave me a million pounds, I wouldn’t do that again! “It’s a very daunting thing. It’s a journey.
“I love it. It still continues to be the most challenging thing, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Some proceeds from the book will go to charity, as well as the Arboretum, which is a place Mr Sinclair holds close to his heart.
He added: “This is a place of remembrance for families who have lost loved ones since the Second World War.
“People, young men and women, are still fighting and families can come here to remember.
“This is an opportunity to give something back.”
SOURCE